


Time hopping Ch1

by myotishia



Series: In the rift [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Other, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 14:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: Owen Harper has been dead for a long time and he hasn’t spent all that time doing nothing. Far from it in fact, he’s been setting a plan that crosses time in motion but he needs help and he’s found just the person.





	Time hopping Ch1

Elise followed the figure, rubbing the back of her right hand.

“Ready?” Owen asked.

“For what?”

“We’re going to time jump.”

“Sure, why not?” She crossed her arms, waiting for nothing to happen or to be woken up by the sound of a heart monitor in the hospital.

“Before we go, do you have paper and a pen?”

“Why would I have paper and a pen if I was going to jump into the bay?”

“Fucks sake. Fine, you need a coat anyway. Where’s your place?”

“I don’t exactly have one anymore. Can we find something on the way?”

Owen paused before heading over to a lamppost with a poster for some nightclub attached. “This’ll do. Grab this for me, I can’t hold anything for long.”

She raised an eyebrow but pulled down the poster is she’d been asked. “And a pen?”

“Use your eyes. People are always dropping the things.”

“Great.” She began scouring the area for something to write with, feeling ridiculous. Finally she found a crushed pen, the inner stylus still undamaged. “Got one, what now?”

“Write on the back. Do not damage. Gaseous life form inside. Needs airtight containment. Tell Gwen not to throw shit.”

Once the paper was written she looked up at Owen. “So now what?”

“We have to deliver it. Try not to throw up.”

“Wh-” She was cut off by the feeling of the world spinning in all directions before landing hard on the grass. It was a dark place, cold. The nausea hit her like a tidal wave and she lost her breakfast, behind a tree. “The hell!”

“Shhhh.” He scolded. “We’re trying not to be seen here. I can’t just time jump back if you get shot now.”

She sat back, catching her breath. “Shot?”

“Over there. See those tents? Think of the people in there like a really jumpy military group. We can’t get caught. Do you still have that letter?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Follow me and stay low.” He turned and headed slowly into the field, staying as low as he could. They seemed to be travelling towards a crater that had been illuminated with industrial looking lights. She could see two figures approaching it. One tall and wearing a large coat. The other smaller, female.

“Elise. You need to get that note over to them without being seen. That’s Jack and Gwen. Me and Tosh are in the crater.” Whispered Owen.

“A lot to unpack there but ok. How?”

“Think of something for yourself.”

She felt around for something to weigh the paper down so it didn’t fly off, finding a fist sized rock. She wrapped the letter around it and secured it with a spare hair band. Waiting until the figures were looking into the crater she wound up a throw and launched the rock over, hoping that it would hit the pole of one of the lights. It didn’t exactly go to plan. The rock missed the light and slammed itself into the back of the tall figures leg, sending him tumbling into the crater. Owen clamped his hand over his face trying, and failing, not to laugh.  He time jumped them just as Gwen turned to see where the rock had been thrown from.

 

Elise sat on the curb trying to settle her stomach after the time jump. At least she hadn’t fallen over this time. She looked up to see Owen still laughing after seeing Jack fall face first into the crater.

“It wasn’t that funny.” She said and rolled her eyes.

Owen caught his breath, not that he really needed to since his death. “If you knew him it would be.”

“So, what now?”

“That was just a test. If you didn’t manage then it wouldn’t matter.”

“Oh great.” She brushed her hair back with her fingers. “I passed then?”

“I’ll give you an A… No, an A plus for launching Jack like that.”

“Better than any grade I got at school.”

Elise stood back up, the nausea settling to a manageable level. She watched Owen playing with his watch.

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You said you can’t touch anything so how do you use your watch? In fact how are you wearing clothes?”

“Would you rather I didn’t?” A smirk spread across Owens face.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“My clothes were atomised with me so they’re almost part of me now.”

“And your watch? Did that go too?”

“No. This is something it took me a century to build using a few parts I scavenged. If Tosh had been around it would have only taken a week.”

She smiled softly hearing the warm sentiment from the phantom. “Who was she to you?”

“A friend.”

“It doesn’t sound like she was just a friend.”

“The me in the past was a moron. By the time I realised I was dead… So was she.”

The area seemed to fall silent. An uncomfortable moment passed before it was broken by Owen, back to business.

“What’s your opinion on euthanasia?” He asked, finally looking over at her with his inhumanly dark eyes.

“What?! Where did that come from?”

“The next job isn’t going to be fun for anyone so I need to know if you’ll be up to it.”

That uncomfortable silence had returned and it had gained a lot of weight. When Elise didn’t reply Owen continued.

“Remember I said there was another member of our team? Don’t give me that look we’re not killing him. He has his girlfriend hidden in the basement. She was partially converted into a cyberman a while ago and he’s been trying to find a way to save her. There isn’t a way to save her but she’s going to wake up soon and at doesn’t end well.”

“You want me to fight her?”

“Fuck no! She’d kill you. I need you to take her off life support before she can try and kill everyone.”

“Oh… I see.” She took a deep breath and slowly blew a cloud of condensation into the night air.

“Look I understand if you can’t do it b-”

“I’ll do it. If she’s like that then she’s suffering, right? And it must be killing your friend-”

“Workmate.”

“Workmate-”

“Tea boy.”

“Oh shut up! Let’s just go.” She shook her head and followed Owen as he strode off towards the locked up buildings nearby. An unassuming tourist information centre sat silent and dark, seemingly vacant.

 

Owen stopped at the door and looked around, pulling something from inside his coat. A set of keys rattled as he swiftly turned one in the lock before it began to turn to dust.

“Are those like your clothes?” Elise asked as she gently pushed the door open.

“Yep. I’m glad I was still carrying them otherwise neither of us would be here. Right, now keep behind me and keep quiet. Jack should be asleep so we shouldn’t have any trouble.” He held up a card key and a hidden door popped open in the wall, closing after Elise stepped through. It felt as if she’d stepped into a completely other dimension as her steps echoed softly through the tile lined hallway.

She whispered, “Where are we?”

“Torchwood. This was our base.”

“Fancy.”

“Wait until you get inside.”

“This isn’t inside?”

“Not even close.”

“Couldn’t we just jump inside? Like we did to the field.”

“No. This place is a nexus for time space bullshit and it completely nullifies my time hopping ability. Right this is about to get loud. If my timing’s right then Jack should be out cold and won’t bother us but just in case get ready to move.”

She nodded and braced herself for the noise. A siren blared above as the massive cog door, that Elise hadn’t realised even could move, rolled aside. Owen surveyed the dark room, paying extra attention to the glass walled office. It stayed still and seemingly empty so he waved her into the room.

“This place is huge.” She breathed, her eyes getting used to the darkness.

“This way.”

The autopsy bay was cold and smelled strongly of disinfectant as they entered, a light flickering on automatically and effectively blinding Elise for a moment.

“Shit!” She tried to shield her eyes with her arm. “You could have warned me.”

“Over here. Grab one of these bottles. If I remember right there’s basically an IV system keeping her partially sedated. All you need to do is contaminate it with this and that’ll be it.”

“That’s it?”

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. Something more violent I guess. Isn’t this a bit much?” She studied the bottle, the size of an average cola can.

“It’s overkill but I don’t want to take any chances. If you give her too little the cybernetic systems might take over and wake her up early. This way they’ll be too flooded to react.”

“You’d know better than me.”

“What do you do if she wakes up even with all of this?” He asked, looking up at the door.

“Umm… Run like hell?”

“Right. You run until you get here. You saw that office earlier?”

“The glass one?”

“Yes. Head right there. At the back of the office there’s a hatch on the floor. If that thing is after you open it and climb down. Wake Jack up and hope he doesn’t shoot you.”

“That’s comforting. What good will he do?”

“He’s immortal.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’ll explain later. We have to get this done and get out before Ianto gets back.”

“That’s your fiend.”

“Workmate.”

“Workma-”

“Tea boy.”

“Oh fuck off.” She laughed quietly, trying not to think about what she was about to do.

 

With the bottle securely held in her hand she followed Owen down corridor after corridor , trying to map the way out in her head. Opening a final security door Elise saw the woman she was about to kill. There was no other way she could think about it. It was a mercy killing but she’d never even hit anyone let alone done them any harm. The figure seemed to be partially made of metal and was wired up to a cold metal bed. Wires snaked across the floor threatening to trip her up.

“Over here.” Owen pointed to a small hatch in the side of the bed.

Elise knelt down and pressed it, sitting back as it opened to show a churning deep red liquid. It didn’t take a PHD to realise what it was. The bottle felt like a lead weight in the woman’s shaking hand as she removed the cap, a strong chemical smell of cleaning fluid rising into the air. She bit her lip and quickly emptied it into the port. She closed it and tried to stand but ended up staggering back into the wall, crumpling into a heap, hands clasped over her mouth.

Dr Harper watched the still figure. He still clearly remembered dealing with her the first time and the aftermath. He wished he could have found another way. Maybe saved her but she was beyond help. He’d tried multiple times but it was impossible, you can’t bring back the dead. The body in front of him began to spasm and foam at the mouth before ceasing to move for the final time. On his way out, Elise staying close and refusing to speak, he pulled out the bundle of plugs. By the time Ianto returned Lisa’s body would be cold and they would be gone.  


End file.
